Mother convicted of raping son denied new trial

When she filed her appeal, child sex predator Carol Hann listed 27 complaints regarding why she deserves a new trial. A Luzerne County judge on Monday said not one has merit.

Luzerne County Judge Tina Polachek Gartley -- who previously sentenced Hann to 20 years, nine months to 41 years, six months in state prison -- on Monday denied an appeal Hann filed after she was convicted of raping her own son.

"As noted, the defendant raises twenty-seven issues for appeal," Gartley wrote in an opinion handed down Monday. "None of the issues raised, however, have any merit."Hann's appeal will now be forwarded to the state Superior Court for review.

Hann, 45, was convicted in December 2012 of rape of a child, criminal conspiracy, incest, corruption of minors and three counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

Hann's lawyer argued that the court erred by not ordering the boy to submit to psychological and psychiatric examinations to assess his competency to testify at trial or determine if he was prone to lie.

The trial judge also should have told the jury that the boy's failure to tell anyone about the abuse for years may "justifiably produce doubt," the attorney said.

Hann's son, now 14, testified at trial about how his father, Robert Caravella, introduced him to pornography at age 7. On his 8th birthday, the boy said Caravella led him upstairs and demanded he have intercourse with Hann, the first of many rapes.

The abuse occurred at homes on North Chestnut Street in Nanticoke and Gould Street in Plymouth, police said.

Gartley sentenced Caravella to 35 1/2 to 71 years in state prison in October.